Sumner Redstone sells Midway for $100,000

Media mogul Sumner Redstone has sold his 87 per cent controlling stake in Midway Games to a private investor for $100,000.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Redstone sold the stake to ‘ease his load’. His network of businesses had begun to cause him fiscal trouble – as reported on MCV.

Redstone's National Amusements Inc. is expected to announce later today that it sold the 87 percent stake to investor Mark Thomas for $0.0012 a share. Thomas will also assume $70 million of senior secured and unsecured debt.

National Amusements Inc. also holds controlling voting stakes in CBS Corp and Viacom. It had already sold about $230 million in shares of both companies to help meet debt payments.

The sale amounts to a significant loss on Redstone's investment but National Amusements is expected to realise a 2008 tax loss of more than $800 million from the sale, the paper said.

National Amusements has about $1.6 billion in debt outstanding. Half of that will need to be repaid by year-end.

MCV is the leading trade news and community site for all professionals working within the UK and international video games market. It reaches everyone from store manager to CEO, covering the entire industry. MCV is published by NewBay Media, which specialises in entertainment, leisure and technology markets.